Women's commission issues notice to Delhi health dept over lack of provision for sex reassignment surgeries in govt hospitals

New Delhi [India], August 1 : The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to the Department of Health and Family Welfare of Delhi, over the lack of provision of Sex Reassignment Surgeries (SRS) in government hospitals in the national capital.
According to an official statement, the Commission regularly interacted with the transgender community and comes across various issues faced by them in Delhi. One of the most common issues faced by the community is the lack of proper government-sponsored sex reassignment surgeries (SRS) in hospitals.
In this regard, the commission had issued notice to the health department and sought information on the provision of free sex reassignment surgery in government hospitals in Delhi.
Subsequently, the commission was informed by the department that the facility of SRS was not available in Delhi government hospitals, the press release stated.
The commission had recommended to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi to introduce the facility of sex reassignment surgeries in government Hospitals.
The Secretary of Health and Family Welfare had directed the Director General of health service to constitute a committee to examine the matter and submit a report to the government in this regard.
Now, DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal has issued notice to the Health and Family Welfare Department seeking information about the committee constituted by the Department in this matter along with minutes of the meetings held by the committee so far.
The commission has also sought details of any report/recommendation made by the committee and details of action taken by the department on the same.
'"Lack of free Sex Reassignment Surgery is one of the main problems faced by the transgender community in Delhi. Presently, most transgenders undergo immense suffering as they are unable to get these surgeries done due to the exorbitant costs of the same," Maliwal said.
"I have issued a notice to the health department in the matter and we shall work towards ensuring that free sex reassignment surgeries are provided in government hospitals in Delhi," she added.